


By the shore

by magicpiano



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Day At The Beach, F/M, Family Fluff, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Not Beta Read, Post-Seine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-16 08:15:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29450628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magicpiano/pseuds/magicpiano
Summary: Valjean spends a day at the beach with his family.
Relationships: Cosette Fauchelevent & Jean Valjean, Cosette Fauchelevent/Marius Pontmercy, Javert/Jean Valjean
Comments: 2
Kudos: 16





	By the shore

**Author's Note:**

> It is (still) valentines day here so I cleaned up this old WIP. It was part of a longer fic but I scraped it. Please enjoy!
> 
> Warnings: references to Javert’s suicide attempt

Valjean had mixed feelings about the ocean.

He never felt anything about the ocean, positive or negative, before. He couldn’t recall ever going as a child and after getting out of prison he had other more important things to do. But that was before Cosette.

Cosette had loved the beach from the first moment she saw it. There was a wonder in her eyes as she looked out into the endless horizon. Valjean felt wonder too, but not at the ocean, his wonder came from her wide smile and childish glee.

Since that first day they had returned to the beach countless times. If they were forced to leave town suddenly because someone had gotten close to his identity, which happened more times that he was happy about, he would try to pick a seaside city to move to. Cosette preferred them and since he was the reason she was constantly changing schools and leaving friends behind, he thought it only fair to indulge her in anyways he could.

But talk of the ocean no longer brought to mind Cosette’s laughter or memories of sandcastles. Well, they did, to a degree, but now a darker memory lingered by the shore too. For the ocean had nearly swallowed Javert whole.

Javert didn’t seem to be nearly as uncomfortable on the sand as Valjean was, which seemed strange because he was the one who had almost died here, it only seemed right that he hate the place more than anyone else. But that wasn’t the case at all. Javert had spent the morning in a pleasant mood, or at least as pleasant as he allowed himself to appear. He made a point of finding the best possible place to set up their towels and umbrellas and didn’t even attempt to grumble when Cosette insisted on covering him in sunscreen.

Javert wasn’t bothered by the beach, so it was rather ridiculous that Valjean was. And even if Valjean was justified in his weariness, it hardly mattered what he thought in this. Cosette loved the beach. He was here for Cosette, his feelings on the matter were irrelevant.

He needed to perk up and stop acting like something was wrong because Cosette had started to notice. She kept turning back to look at him when she thought he wasn’t paying attention. It wouldn’t be such a problem, but while her attention was focused on him rather than her sandcastle, Marius had accidently knocked down one of the towers.

Cosette had laughed it off and found a way to incorporate the fallen tower back into her castle.

“The castle has been attacked; you see?” Cosette asked as she began reshaping the sand. “And this is the rubble. We will have to build stronger defenses on the other side.”

Valjean was pretty sure the reason the Marius had knocked the tower down was because he was nervous from all of Javert’s staring.

Javert had actually liked Marius before he and Cosette had begun dating, but now it was a different story. He had embraced the stereotype of overprotective father by making it clear to Marius who he would need to answer to if he broke Cosette's heart.

Valjean didn’t exactly  _ love _ Marius, but he did wish, just a bit, that Javert would be a bit less abrasive to Marius. Abrasive was part of Javert’s personality, and Valjean loved him for it, but he also didn’t want to scare Marius away. He made Cosette happy and Valjean could hope for nothing more.

But in truth another part of Valjean was happy about the whole situation. The time Javert had threatened Marius was the first and only time Valjean had heard him call Cosette his daughter. In that moment everything felt right, their family, which was broken and lopsided, had for the first time felt like it was supposed to.

Javert had called himself as part of the family. The declaration felt permanent, unshakable and indescribably  _ right _ .

“You are worrying Cosette,” Javert said, nudging Valjean with his shoulder. “What’s on your mind?”

“Nothing,” Valjean straightened himself up but Javert didn’t quite buy it. “Just…” Valjean hesitated, looking out into the ocean. “Do you like it here?”

“Yes,” Javert answered immediately. Valjean was unsure if Javert was referring to the beach or just life in general, and the thought made Valjean feel warm. “Do you?”

Valjean looked at Cosette and Marius laughing in the sand, and at Javert who had come so far and worked so hard to find a place for himself in their family, and Valjean didn’t need to hesitate either.

“More than anything.”

Perhaps the beach would always leave him with mixed feelings, but this place would always be significant to him. It was where Javert almost died, but it was also where Valjean had saved him. It was where he and Cosette bonded, where they really became a family.

And maybe someday, if Valjean could build up the courage, it would be where he proposed. 

**Author's Note:**

> I suspect this will be my last oneshot for a while because I am working on big multichapter projects right now. But even if I am not very active, I am still writing! I have a few valvert WIPs too, even though my big projects right now are ExR.
> 
> [Here](https://lesbianjolllly.tumblr.com/) is my Les Mis side blog! Feel free to talk to me about this fic, my others or anything else!
> 
> Thank you for reading and stay safe!


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